18360114 16:48:06

18360114 16:48:06

"Jesse, keep an eye on the soup. Frederic, come with me."
"Yessir." Jesse acknowledged the command by saying this and pulling a chair up to the stove.
Daron tied the wool scarf tightly around his neck before standing at the side of the door to hold it open. He nodded to Frederic, who hurriedly stepped out into the snow while tightening the straps around his coat.
"Where are we going?"
"Out." Daron vigorously slammed the door to the cabin shut with the answer. He walked ahead of Frederic and led the way to the side of the barn where the two horses were idly standing, then leaned against the east facing wall to shield against the wind. He addressed Frederic once stood at his side.
"I'm sorry to ask this of you, Frederic, but this situation has come up all the sudden and the best way it can be over is with your help. I'm expecting your refusal."
"Mr. Hoobler, I already mentioned that I would help you a few hours ago, as I have before, surely that shows-"
"This is different. Those children in there that you haven't seen before, Saul and Marian, their mother is gone at the moment. She left from here in search of her husband. She won't find him because her husband was here, and I killed him."
"Oh! Oh my God! How could you have ever-"
"It was self defense, Frederic. He had a plan to kill us in the middle of the night. I woke to find him strangling Jesse. His plan was to kill us both. That's why he sent for his family to come now, to come later on. She didn't expect to find anyone but her husband here."
"Oh, that is dreadful! How terrible."
"It is, but what's worse is that I didn't know how to tell her that this had happened. I didn't even tell her that he died. I didn't think of a way to make a story about it that would hold up."
"So, what? You're asking me to concoct a story that would conceal the man's death?"
"Not quite, no. I'm not sure that's needed, really. What I am asking for, though, is a way to make it appear that the man's death was official and recorded. Something which I could show to her that she would see as official confirmation of his death."
"Very well, so you're asking me to obtain a forgery." Frederic exhaled derisively with stating that confirmation. "This is worse and more difficult to do, you realize."
"It is, yes, but I already gave a tale about him being injured and laid up at a hospital in Baltimore. All that needs to be gotten is a death certificate from somewhere in Baltimore, and that will be enough for me to work with."
"Ugh, that's terrible."
"Well what in the hell else could I do? I had to say something! I couldn't just say he vanished like a ghost!"
"You could have told the truth about what the man tried to do and-"
"And then what? Have her live with me for a few weeks being absolutely despondent and shacked up with the man who killed her husband? With her children there too? She's stuck here otherwise! We're all stuck here, at least until Spring. I didn't see me having any other choice! And look, can't you ask around to have someone do it? Of course I would supply the fee, and the only reason that I'm asking is because you're the only person who has the ability to do this."
"This... this is abominable! You're essentially asking me to be an accomplice to your murder!"
"Well." Daron shook his head and laughed before he continued to speak. "This is about what I expected. I had to ask, all the same."
"... I. I'll have to make a long deliberation on this, Daron. Nor can I guarantee that I can ultimately help even if I agree to assist you. I can at least appreciate the difficulty of your situation but what you're asking of me is certainly amoral in several dimensions." Frederic stated this with a tone of defeat and resignation.
"That's the most I can ask of you, Frederic."